DENVER, CO. - MARCH 22: JaVale McGee (34) of the Denver Nuggets went for a block on a shot by Tyreke Evans (13) of the Sacramento Kings in the first half. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Sacramento Kings Saturday night, March 23, 2013 at the Pepsi Center. (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post)

DENVER, CO. - MARCH 22: Danilo Gallinari (8) of the Denver Nuggets drove to the basket in the second half. The Denver Nuggets defeated the Sacramento Kings 101-95 Saturday night, March 23, 2013 at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets extended its longest winning streak since joining the NBA to 15 games with the win over the Kings. (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post)

On Jan. 25, 1970, the Denver Rockets won their 15th consecutive game, a franchise record that lasted through a name change and a league change, through Moe and Mutombo and Melo.

But Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, the current Nuggets matched the streak, tying a franchise record that’s stood six years longer than Andre Miller’s life.

It wasn’t easy. And it took a clutch three-point play by Miller to secure the 101-95 win against Sacramento. Denver led by just three points with less than a minute left, when the 37-year-old point guard suddenly streaked to the basket for a quick layup and was fouled. The free throw gave Denver a 97-92 lead, and the Kings couldn’t recover.

We definitely can win better,” Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari said. “We all think we can do something special this year, so we cannot allow ourselves to have bad stretches in these types of games, especially at home. (Coach George Karl) was pretty mad, he was not happy with us. He was saying we can’t allow ourselves to do this, because this is the last stretch before the playoffs.”

Yes, perhaps the Nuggets should have smacked around the Kings with ease. Just like the previous game against the 76ers. But the Nuggets found a way to win, with timely contributions of Kosta Koufos, Anthony Randolph and other surprise fourth-quarter contributors. Denver now has 49 wins, third-most in the Western Conference.

All five starters scored in double figures, with Gallinari leading the way with 19 points, as well as eight boards, four assists and three steals.

The Nuggets were again without their maestro. Friday, point guard Ty Lawson seemed confident he could play through a right heel bruise Saturday. But after a pregame workout, Lawson was ruled out for the Kings game.

“We have a different personality without Wilson Chandler (shoulder separation) and Ty that we haven’t found a flow with, especially offensively,” said Karl, who was mad at his team for shooting too many jump shots. “I felt tonight we were fairly atrocious in the second and third quarter.”

Miller started in Lawson’s place (11 points, five assists), and this time, Karl called on Julyan Stone, not Evan Fournier, to play backup point. It’s been a long road for Stone, who had hip surgery in the summer and played just 11 minutes all season, the last time Jan. 5. But the lanky 6-foot-6 floor general played 14 minutes Saturday and had five points and a plus-10 rating.

In the previous game at Sacramento, Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins get all DeMarcus Cousins-y with Gallinari, prompting Gallo to say “he said a lot of bad stuff” and that “I’m a lover not a fighter.”

Well, Cousins played inspired basketball against Denver this go-round, finishing with 24 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

And with Denver down one point heading into the fourth, the home team outscored the visitors 31-24 in the final quarter, en route to the big No. 15.

“I’m part of Nuggets history and that’s great. We did something special for this franchise,” Gallinari said. “But what counts is not now, but in the playoffs.”

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missedJohn Salmons has had a couple of big games against Denver before, and the Kings sharpshooter kept Sacramento in Saturday’s game in the second half. He scored 13 points, including three 3s, in the final two quarters. … Denver again cracked the 60s with points in the paint, this time tallying 62 to the Kings’ 48. … JaVale McGee scored 11 points in the first half, but none in the second.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.